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Rich guys and reviewers running amok

I think there is allot of truth in that article. Many audiophiles willy wave components in terms of their wallet worth and not their actual sound quality or value. Audiophile companies and dealers are more than happy to relieve them of such wasteful excess.
 
It's definitely not a hifi-only thing. Which isn't to excuse it!

There are parallels with sectors like automotive where everyone involved - manufacturer, advertising agency, media and social media company, retailer (often tied to former), reviewer and, yes, customer all conspire with each other to encourage upselling - those fancy wheels, BMW's "concierge" service (who ever actually used that?), etc. Other sectors are available. Like watches. Or bikes (the ones with pedals), apparently.

Still, at least cars, bikes, watches and hifi do something. The whole exclusivity/willy-waving thing is taken to extremes in jewellery and medium-high fashion where it's all about being seen to wear something... and not about wearing clothes for warmth or dignity.

In all the above, "pride of ownership" is probably the driving force of many transactions. It's the consumer society/capitalist economy in which we live. Its lifeblood is growth, and growth means making people dissatisfied with what they were delighted to buy only N years ago (built-in obsolescence). That social/economic force can drive fabulous creativity in technology and in design, but it can also drive vacuous marketing, huge waste and in some circumstances cynical exploitation.

In hifi, sometimes (more often than not) I tut at it; sometimes I think I might as well join in and take a slice of it; and sometimes I join the party as a willing consumer. Funny old world.
 
I suspect many of the people who have enough money to buy really expensive kit have ears too old to hear the alleged benefits. Fortunately I’ve always been happy with components costing a few hundred pounds each.
 
I suspect many of the people who have enough money to buy really expensive kit have ears too old to hear the alleged benefits. Fortunately I’ve always been happy with components costing a few hundred pounds each.

The same has always struck me about high performance cars.... when many are old enough to afford them they are well out of the "boy racer" stage and no longer have the will, the ability or the reactions to use the performance!
 
The same has always struck me about high performance cars.... when many are old enough to afford them they are well out of the "boy racer" stage and no longer have the will, the ability or the reactions to use the performance!

Some of us are still hanging in there! :) Although these days I am more interested in my 5K and 10K times...
 

As has been already said above, there is a lot of truth in that article. One factor not mentioned is that due to the enormous lack of knowledge and expertise in audio and audio design, especially in the far east (with the exception of Japan) the only indicator of performance is the price. Therefore many go for the high ticket items expecting them to be the best. This, as well as the bragging rights which are also very prevalent and important in Asia.

BTW Keith, do you still have your £140,000 Cessaro Liszt's?
 
Why this happens is obvious—it’s natural to associate price with quality. It’s also well documented. If you look up business and psychology studies about pricing and buying behavior, you’ll likely come across something called the placebo effect of price, which, in an article published on Study.com, is described as follows: “If you have two products and one is marked as being more expensive, it will be perceived as the better product, even if it’s identical to the other.”

An example from the pro audio industry. This Behringer console sells for $2499:

X32_P0ASF_Left_XL.png


It is identical to this Midas console that sells for $3699:

M32_P0B3I_Front_XL.png


Only the nameplate and the styling are different, both come from the same manufacturer with the same guts, but one has a bargain basement brand name and the other has a prestige name.
 
In a world where rappers wear their wealth, bling is king.
There’s been a trend coming from east to west of ostentatious wealth, gold is no longer gauche.
 
Maybe, but not now its mass produced in China...

The pro stuff is still made in UK. But yeah Midas did not fare so well in the transition to digital, they never regained the universal acceptance that their top analog consoles earned. Being bought out by Uli Behringer didn't help either.

The de facto standard these days is DiGiCo, who used to be a mid-tier console maker in the analog days (Soundtracs).
 


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